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What better time is there than a brand new, never been touched, it’s all up for grabs, yours for the taking New Year to decide how good you could make it… your work, your life – the full monty. But we’re going to do more than simply decide; we’re going to be resolute. Webster defines being resolute as “being faithful to a promise.” In this case, the… read more

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO “JOY?” Okay, it shows up at Christmas on beautiful holiday cards and in stirring Christmas Carols (which never fail to move me) but other than that, the word is kind of short-lived. And so is the feeling. Maybe we could change that. Seriously. It won’t be easy, of course. Darkness prevails. Despite… read more

ACING THE PITCH; NAILING THE SALE, LANDING THE JOB Let’s say you’ve got a shot at launching a new initiative, landing a new position or simply pitching a new idea to your company. Whatever you do, don’t fall into the pit that I’ve fallen into a million times. It’s the “This is so good, you ought to want it” pit. The thing is, we get so… read more

STIRRED, NOT SHAKEN I know, I know, James Bond, (played by Sean Connery, the iconic “007″) insisted that his martinis be “shaken not stirred.” Actually, I like them both ways. Plus, I like them “dirty.” And our daughters, Kate and Abigail, make them to perfection. But much as I love them, I’m not actually… read more

WAKING THE SPIRIT I’ve loved music ever since I can remember (never mind how long a time that is…) When I was about ten I fell in love with Italian operas. I’d lie on the floor listening to Puccini’s “La Bohème” or Verdi’s La Traviata by the hour. I was transported by the beauty and emotion,… read more

SEMPER FIDELIS “Always faithful”…” Those, as you no doubt know, are the watchwords – the promise and the reality – of the United States Marine Corps. I was lucky enough to attend the Corps’ 243rdbirthday celebration in New York, thanks to a dear friend, a much-decorated retired colonel and fighter attack pilot in World… read more

CELEBRATING ABUNDANCE There are lots of things to be grateful for at Thanksgiving: You don’t have to go shopping (except for food), you don’t have to wrap gifts, (or return them), you don’t have to do a lot of decorating, (okay, pumpkins, and gourds, and maybe those dried corn husk things, but it’s no big deal.) In the end,… read more

THIN ENOUGH? DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT… Allie Kieffer isn’t. (Worrying about it, that is…or anything else, for that matter.) As you might’ve read in the NY Times Sunday Review, October 27th in a piece called, “Who Says Allie Kieffer Isn’t Thin Enough to Win?”Allie is one of the best female marathon runners in the country. But…according the the Times piece, Allie… read more

“Whatever!” I call that word the “verbal shrug.” And shrugging, whatever form you give it, is just another form of “the old cop out.” And, boy, copping out is not what we need from ourselves (or each other) as we’re about to step into 2019… Seriously, don’t shrug. It gives the impression that you’re thinking or saying out loud one (or all)… read more

SOME ENCHANTED EVENING… Remember “South Pacific” by Rogers and Hammerstein and the great Ezio Pinza singing those incredibly romantic lyrics from “Some Enchanted Evening.” Even as a little girl I got chills. Still do. Whatever happened to that idea that somewhere, somehow, the fates would smile, the stars would align, the Universe would provide and… read more